With Roy Oswalt unavailable because of a left hip abductor strain, righthander Brian Moehler will start the first Astros game after the All-Star break Friday night against the Chicago Cubs at Minute Maid Park.

Moehler signed as a minor league free agent this winter, earned the long reliever's role in spring training and eventually moved into the starting rotation after taking advantage of spot starts in place of Wandy Rodriguez in May.

Moehler has been a pleasant surprise, but he's like most of the Astros and their fans.

"It's just the way things kind of fall," he said. "I think we'd all say we'd want Roy to start that game, obviously, because he's the ace of the staff. It's just unfortunate that he's injured right now."

Moehler is 5-4 with a 4.28 ERA over 17 appearances, 12 as a starter.

"I've had some games that I'm pleased with and obviously some I'm not," he said. "I think I'm happy with the way things are going.

"Obviously I'd like to see our record a little better. That's just the way it's going right now."

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Moehler will be followed in the rotation by Rodriguez and Brandon Backe. Before Oswalt was hurt, Cecil Cooper had planned to start Oswalt, followed by Rodriguez and Moehler.

"Brian's been really good for us, real, real good," Cooper said. "I think about it (and) I don't know where we would be without him. He's been about as consistent as you can ask a guy to be, quite a few quality starts in a row."

Making the rounds

Now that the Astros have played at Nationals Park,
Brad Ausmus
has appeared in 44 major league stadiums.

"I think part of it is that in the time that I'm playing it's the era of the new baseball stadium," Ausmus said. "When I was growing up in Connecticut there was only one baseball stadium, and that was Fenway Park, in my mind.

Castro meets team

Astros first-round pick catcher
Jason Castro
, who signed Saturday and will report to Tri-City today, toured Nationals Park with his parents, Tom and Lori, and met several players after receiving a tour of the visitors' clubhouse by general manager
Ed Wade
.

A moment of silence

The Nationals held a moment of silence for two fans who died on a team-promoted shuttle bus on the way to a game.

Police say the fans were standing on the upper deck of an open-top bus on the way to Friday night's game against the Astros when their heads struck the bottom of an overpass.

Quintero to get exam

Humberto Quintero
, who would be eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list Friday, will be examined that day to see if he has overcome the effects of the concussion he suffered May 1 when he was hit in the head by the Dodgers'
Luis Maza
's backswing.

If he's cleared, Quintero will go on a rehabilitation assignment to Class AAA Round Rock, where he'll try on a new mask similar to the hockey goalie-style helmet Brad Ausmus has worn for years.

Because of the head injury, the Astros want Quintero to see if he's ready in a rehab assignment before activating him.

"With concussions you want to kind of check and make sure," manager Cecil Cooper said.